SEPTEMBER 201 



berries of the black holly, or yaupon, the famous 

 black drink was brewed, and although tobacco 

 is tobacco the world over, to Hackluyt it was 

 vpponoc. The persimmon holds fast to its old 

 name, and so does the chinquapin, while pecan 

 is a pure Indian word for which no interpreter 

 is needed by any Greek or Italian fruit- vendor. 



Only one plant, a reed-grass, ever achieved 

 the dignity of becoming a token, or tribal sign, 

 but it was while I was making sure of this 

 that I came upon this charming pet name for 

 a baby, " gohana " (" a hanging flower "). 



Of very many plants the word Indian is used 

 compounded with another noun in our common 

 speech. The opuntia is Indian fig, the wild 

 arum, called by New England children Jack-in- 

 the-pulpit, is the Indian turnip, and the canna 

 is Indian shot. One of the few scarlet flowers 

 is a dianthus known as Indian pink, and the 

 painted trillium, least balmy of flowers, is 

 Indian balm. Why other tobacco than real 

 tobacco should be called tobacco at all I do 

 not know, but one of the lobelias is Indian 

 tobacco. One of the groundsels is called 

 squaw-weed, and one of the broom-rapes is 

 known as squaw-root. The blue cohosh is also 



